Folding chair.



No. 828,136. PATHNTHD AUG. 7, 1906 H. NICHOLS. HOLDING CHAIR.

APPLIoATIoN FILED I'HB. 8. '1906.

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UNTTED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.`

FOLDING CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 7, 1 906.

Application led February 8, 1906. Serial No. 300,109.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I," HARRY NICHOLS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Pittsburg, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Chairs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements 'in theater-chairs; and the invention has for its primary object the provision of novel means whereby an entire chair can be folded into a small and compact form.

My invention aims to provide a ychair for theaters, auditoriums, halls, and the like compartments where large audiences or congregations are to be seated, the chair being particularly adapted for theaters in order that the chairs may be easily and quickly folded after they have b een occupied to permit an audience to more easily depart. In this connection my improved chair is constructed whereby it can be easily and quickly folded into the floor of the orchestra, balcony, or gallery of a th eater to provide a clear floorspace, and thus permit the audience to quickly depart in case of fire or the like accidents. The principle upon which my improved chair is constructed may also be embodied in a camp or outing chair, and for this reason I do not care to confine myself to a theater-chair.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in. the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and then specifically pointed out in the claims, and, referring to the drawings accompanying this application, like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which` Figure 1 is a perspective view of a chairconstructed in accordance with my invention. when knocked down or folded, illustrating the same within a compartment formed in the floor of a building. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail perspective view of a pivotal connection made between the parts of my improved chair.

To put my invention into practice I construct my improved chair of a seat 1, having a hinged back 2, which is adapted to fold Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the chair upon the seat 1. The bottom of the seat is provided4 with depending lugs 3 3, and connected to said lugs are legs or supports- 4 and 5. The legs or supports consist of a plurality of levers 6, which are pivotally connected together upon the principle of lazy-tongs. The pivotal points of the levers are connected together by transverse rods or braces 7, while the ends of the levers forming the feet of the legs or supports 4 and 5 are pivotally connected to brackets 8 8, said brackets bemg secured to the floor of a compartment or in the bottom of a compartment 9, formed in the floor 10 of a building.

Pivoted to the sides of the seat l, as at 11, are arms 12 12, the upper ends of said arms being pivotally connected, as at 14 14, to arm-rests 15 15, said rests being pivoted to the seat-back, as at 16 16. The lower ends of the arms 12 12 are pivotally connected, as at 17 17, to bars 18, which in turn are pivotally connected to brackets 19, mounted upon the floor of a building or upon the bottom or the recess 9, formed in the floor 10.

Thepivotal connections 17 17 between the bars 18 18 and the lower ends of the arms 12 are formed whereby the joints of said bars and said arms can only be broken in one direction, this also bemg true of the pivotal connections 14 14 of the arms 12 12 and the arm-rests 15 15. In Fig. 3 of the drawings one of the connections is shown in detail where the end of one of the bars 18 is provided with a disk-shaped enlargement 20, which is pivotally connected to a disk-shaped enlargement 21,carried by the lower end of one of the arms 12. The enlargements 20 and 21 are disposed at an angle to the bar 18 and the arm 12, thereby providing shoulders 22 22, adapted to engage one another to form a stiff joint and only permit the joint to be broken in one direction.

In folding or collapsing the chair the pivotal connections 17 17 are broken, and then the back 2 of the chair is folded upon the seat, this operation placing the arm-rests 15 along the edges of the back and the arms 12 12 along the edges of the seat after the back and seat are lowered to .rest upon the levers 6 of the legs or supports 4 and 5, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2- of the drawings.

The recesses 9 within the floor 10 of the building are made of a suiiicient depth to accommodate a chair when folded, whereby the back 2 of the chair will lie in a plane horizon- IOO tal to the floor and may be trod upon, if necessary, when an audience is departing from a room or compartment.

My improved chair is preferably constructed oil light and durable metal and provided with a cushion-seat and cushion-back; but in some instances wood may be conveniently used where the chair is to be used Jfor outing or camping purposes.

Such changes in the construction and operation of my improved chair as are permislsible by the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A chair of the type described embodying a seat, a back hinged to said seat, depending collapsible legs or supports carried by saidseat, transverse rods or braces connecting said legs or supports, arms pivotally connected to said seat, arm-rests pivotally connected to the back of said seat and to the upper ends of said arms, and bars pivotally connected to the lower ends of said arms at one end and to a fixed pivot at the other end,

substantially as and for the purpose describ ed.

2. A chair of the type described comprising a seat, a back hinged to said seat depending lazy-tongs supports carried by the seat, arms pivotally connected to said seat, armrests pivotally connected to the back, and-to the upper ends of said arms, and bars pivotally connected to the lower ends of said arms at C(line end, and to a fixed pivot at the other en In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HARRY NICHOLS.

Witnesses:

WM. C. HEITL. E. E. POTTER. 

